Packaging with monoaxially oriented film

ABSTRACT

A flexible package ( 14 ) comprises one or more lengths of flexible material ( 16 ) arranged to define an internal cavity closed by means of seals ( 18, 22, 24 ) in which opposed regions of the material are bonded together. At least one seal ( 22 ) has a tab portions ( 30 ) in which the material is not bonded to an opposing region of material. The material ( 16 ) has directional tear characteristics and is oriented so as to tear preferentially in a direction orthogonal to the direction of said seal. The package is opened by pulling the tab portions ( 30 ) so that the material tears along either side of the tab portions in the manner of a tear strip. The material ( 16 ) may consist exclusively of a single layer of monoaxially oriented polypropylene film. The tab portions ( 30 ) may be formed in an end seal ( 22 ) so that material tears in a longitudinal direction of the package. The package may be a flow wrapped package.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/812,989, filed Jan. 29, 2013; which is theNational Stage of International Application No. PCT/GB2011/051594, whichdesignates the U.S., filed Aug. 24, 2011, which claims the benefit ofGreat Britain Application No. GB 1015055.5 filed Sep. 10, 2010, thecontents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packaging, and in particular, but notexclusively, to packaging for food and more specifically confectioneryproducts.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

It is known to package food products such as chocolate bars and othersnack type confectionery products in a package which is formed from alength of flexible material. The material has an inner surface directedto the food product and an outer surface. The outer surface may beprinted on or otherwise be provided with information for the consumer.In some processes, the material is supplied as part of a continuous rollor film.

One known packaging arrangement is commonly referred to as a flow-wrappackage. This type of package is produced using a flow-wrap method inwhich a film of material is supplied in a roll to package a number ofproducts in a substantially continuous process. The method is suitablefor wrapping generally rigid products including generally blocked shapedproducts such as chocolate or other confectionery bars and the like.However, the method can be modified to package products of differentshapes or to package a stack or array of smaller products positionedside-by-side.

In the flow-wrap method, the material is fed through a machine whichfolds it about each product or each stack of products in turn so thatopposing longitudinal side edges are brought into face to face contactand bonded together to form a longitudinal fin seal. The material iscrimped at either end of the product or stack to form transverse endseals and the material is cut to separate each package from theremainder of the film. The seals may be formed using an adhesive to bondthe opposing surfaces of the material or by fusing the material togetherto form a welded seal. There are a number of known techniques forproducing welded seals including heat sealing and ultra sonic sealing.When used to package a product using this method, the material is oftenreferred to as a wrapper as it is wrapped around the product.

Flexible packaging can also be formed from a length of flexible materialusing a form, fill and seal (“FFS”) operation to produce a bag or pouchtype arrangement. This type of packaging is often used to packageflowable products such as liquids and powders or for containing a numberof smaller product items such as: savoury snacks, nuts, dried fruit,small cookies, crackers, gum pellets, mints, gums, hard boiled sweets,candies, chocolates, toffees and the like. In an FFS operation, an endof a continuous film of material is folded and sealed to define a cavitywhich is open at one end. The partially formed bag is separated from theremainder of the material and filled with product though its open end.The open end is then sealed to form the completed package. The operationmay be a vertical or horizontal fill as is known in the art. The pouchcavity may be gas flushed (e.g. N₂ or CO₂) before the bag is closed. Bagor pouch type packages can also be formed using two or more lengths ofmaterial which are overlaid and sealed together to define an innercavity for containing a product. For example a bag or pouch type packagecan be formed by positioning a first length of material over a secondand bonding the two lengths together along three edges to form apartially constructed package. Product is then intruded though the openend which is subsequently sealed.

It is known to produce flexible packages of the types referred to abovefrom a variety of materials including polymeric materials, metallicfoil, and paper. Often the material will be a laminate having two ormore layers of different materials. For packaging confectioneryproducts, a commonly used laminate comprises an inner layer of paper andan outer layer of a metallic, often aluminium, foil. However, othermaterials have been used, including polymeric materials which mayinclude thermoplastic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate(PET), for example. Depending on the types of materials used, the knownpackages may be substantially gas and moisture impervious. However, forsome food and confectionery applications, a hermitically sealed packageis not desirable.

A problem with the known flexible packages is that the material used istypically quite tough. This makes opening the package difficult as thematerial does not easily tear in a controlled fashion. To assist aconsumer in gaining access to the packaged products, it is commonpractice to provide a tear guide in or on the material which assists aconsumer in tearing the package along a predetermined line.

One known form of tear guide comprises a separate strip of materialwhich is attached to an inner surface of the packaging material. Thestrip is made of a material which is stronger than the packagingmaterial and an end of the strip is exposed in the finished package sothat it can be grasped by a user and pulled to tear the packagingmaterial along the line of the strip. Use of a separate tear strip isdisadvantageous as it requires the manufacture and storage of anadditional component, i.e. the strip, as well as an additional processstep of applying the strip to the packaging material. Where packages areformed from a roll of material in a continuous process, such as withflow-wrapped packages, the strip of material is often applied to thematerial as part of the packaging process. However, in order to applythe strip the machinery must be run at speeds which are significantlylower than the maximum speed that could otherwise be achieved. This isespecially so where the strip is applied in a transverse direction ofthe material. This reduces the efficiency of the packaging process andso leads to an increase in costs.

To overcome these drawbacks, it is known to form one or more lines ofweakness in the packaging material to act as a tear guide. Lines ofweakness can be formed by means of perforations which extend through thepackaging material but this is not suitable where the product isperishable as the integrity of the sealed package is lost.Alternatively, score lines can be formed which extend only partwaythrough the thickness of the material. Where the packaging material is alaminate, it is known to provide a line of weakness which extendsthrough only one or some of the layers so that at least one layer isleft intact to maintain the integrity of the package prior to opening.This arrangement though is not always satisfactory as the layer(s) whichis/are left intact may still be difficult to tear in a controlledmanner.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved packaging whichovercomes or at least mitigates the above problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, there isprovided a flexible package comprising one or more lengths of flexiblematerial arranged to define an internal cavity closed by means of one ormore seals in which opposed regions of the material are bonded together,the package having one or more tab portions in which the material is notbonded to an opposing region of material associated with one seal, thematerial having directional tear characteristics and being orientated soas to tear preferentially in a direction substantially orthogonal to thedirection of said seal.

The material may comprise a plastics film having directional tearcharacteristics. The material may a monoaxially orientated polypropylenefilm. In one embodiment, the material consists exclusively of a singlelayer of monoaxially orientated polypropylene film. In a furtherembodiment, the material is a lamination comprising a layer ofpolyethylene terephthalate (PET), a layer of aluminium foil, and a layerof oriented polypropylene film.

At least the outer end of the, or each, tab portion may project beyondan outer end of the remainder of said seal. The whole of the, or each,tab portion may project beyond the outer end of the remainder of saidseal.

In an embodiment a tab region is defined within said seal, the opposedregions of material within the tab region being bonded together onlyover an inner extent of the seal, the opposed regions of material withinthe tab region but outside the inner extent are not bonded together toform opposed tab portions.

The one or more tab portions may extend in a direction substantiallyorthogonal to the direction of said seal.

The seal may be a transverse seal closing one end of the package and thematerial may be oriented to tear preferentially in a longitudinaldirection.

The package may be formed from a single length of flexible material. Inwhich case, opposed side edge regions of the material may be bondedtogether to form a longitudinal seal and opposed end regions of thematerial may be bonded together to form transverse seals at either endof the package, and the one or more tab portions may be associated withone of the end seals, the material being orientated to as to tearpreferentially in a longitudinal direction of the package. Thelongitudinal seal may be a fin seal.

In an embodiment, the package is in the form of a bag or pouch closed atan upper end by means of a sealed header, the one or more tab portionsbeing associated with the header.

In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, there isprovided a package assembly comprising a flexible package as claimed inany one of the preceding claims enclosing one or more products.

The one or more products may comprise at least one generally blockshaped product. In which case, the at least one generally block shapedproduct may be frangible and may comprise two or more separable portionsdivided from one another by elongate regions or grooves of reducedthickness along which the product can be broken, the one or more tabportions being aligned with a region of reduced thickness. The productmay be a chocolate bar.

In accordance with a third embodiment of the invention, there isprovided a method of manufacturing a flexible package from one or morelengths of flexible material, the method comprising arranging the one ormore lengths of material to define an internal cavity and bondingtogether opposed regions of the material to form one or more sealsclosing the cavity, the method includes forming one or more tab portionsin which the material is not bonded to an opposing region of materialassociated with one seal, the material having directional tearcharacteristics and the method comprising orienting the material suchthat it is orientated so as to tear preferentially in a directionsubstantially orthogonal to the direction of the said one seal.

The one or more tab portions may be aligned in a direction substantiallyorthogonal to the direction of the seal.

The method may comprise applying adhesive to a region of the materialfor producing said one seal when the package is formed, no adhesivebeing applied in two areas within said region, which areas overlie oneanother when the material is formed into the package.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a package in accordancewith the present invention showing the package in a closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a view of the package of FIG. 1 taken from one side;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing the packagein a partially opened condition;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a section of material for use in forming thepackage of FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 6 shows a first embodiment of a rotary knife for use in forming thepackage of FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of a rotary knife for use in formingthe package of FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the end of a package similar to that shown inFIG. 1 but illustrating an alternative opening tab arrangement;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a flexiblepackage in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 10 is view similar to that of FIG. 9 but shown the package afterremoval of an outer header region.

The same reference numbers but increased by 100 in each case will beused to identify the same or similar features in each of the embodimentsto be described.

FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a packaging assembly 10 inaccordance with the invention. The package assembly 10 comprises one ormore products, in this case a chocolate bar 12, which is encased in agenerally tubular package 14 formed from a length of flexible material16 in the form of a wrapper.

The material 16 is folded around the product and sealed to define acavity fully enclosing the product. Opposing side edge regions of thematerial 16 are bonded together, inner face to inner face, to form alongitudinal fin seal 18 which extends along a rear face 20 of thepackage. Opposing end edge regions of the material 16 that extend beyondthe ends of the chocolate bar are bonded together in face to facerelation to form transverse end seals 22, 24 at either end of theproduct in a known manner.

In the present embodiment, the seals are formed by bonding the opposededge regions of the material together using a cold seal adhesive 26 toproduce seals that can be peeled apart. However, the seals can beproduced using other types of adhesive or by fusing the materialtogether to form a welded seal using any known methods such as heatwelding or ultra-sonic welding.

The package 14 is a flow-wrap package and will typically be producedusing a flow wrap packaging machine (not shown) in a known manner. Inthis type of operation, the material 16 is provided as part of acontinuous roll that is fed into the machine and folded about eachproduct in turn. The inner surfaces of opposing side edge regions of thematerial are brought into contact and bonded together to form thelongitudinal fin seal 18. Opposing edge regions of the material ateither end of the product are also brought into contact and bonded toform the transverse end seals 22, 24 and the material is cut to separateeach package 14 from the remainder of the film. Once formed in to apackage, the material 16 defines an internal cavity in which the productis received and which is enclosed by the seals 18, 22, 24.

The material 16 is a flexible material having directional tearingcharacteristics. That is to say the material tends to tearpreferentially in one direction so that once a tear is initiated in thepreferred direction, the tear will tend to propagate in a substantiallystraight line in the preferred direction. In one non-limiting example,the material consists exclusively of a single layer of monoaxiallyorientated polypropylene (OPP) film. Monaxially orientated polypropylenefilms have a reduced tear strength in the direction of orientation andso will tend to tear preferentially in that direction once tearing hasbeen initiated. In a further non-limiting example, the material 16 is alamination comprising an outer layer of polyethylene terephthalate(PET), an inner layer of an orientated plastics film (such as Terolen®),with a layer of aluminium foil between the outer and inner layers. Othersuitable materials can be used provided the material selected hasdirectional tear characteristics. The material 16 may be printed on inthe usual manner and may be subject to surface treatments, provided thatit retains its directional tear characteristics.

When forming the package, the material 16 is orientated so that it willtear preferentially in a longitudinal direction of the completed package14, that is to say in a direction substantially orthogonal to thedirection of the transverse end seals 22, 24. This is typically thedirection in which the film is fed from the roll into the machine and isoften referred to in the art as the machine direction and is indicatedin FIG. 5 by arrow A.

A tab region 30 is formed in one of the transverse end seals 22. The tabregion 30 is a portion of the end seal 22 in which opposed regions ofthe material 16 are bonded together to form a seal only over an innerextent 34 of the seal. This can be seen best in FIG. 3 in which theshaded region 34 indicates the extent of cold seal used to form the sealin the tab region. The remainder of the opposed regions of materialwithin the tab region 30 but outside of the inner sealed extent are notbonded and form separable tab portions 32 which can be pulled apart by auser to initiate tearing of the material. In the remainder of the endseal 22, the opposed regions of material are bonded together oversubstantially the whole of their longitudinal extents in the usualmanner.

To open the package 14, a consumer grips the separable tab portions 32and pulls them apart. This initiates tearing of the material at eitherside of the tab region. Due to the directional tear characteristic ofthe material, the tears propagate along the length of the package ingenerally straight lines as indicated by the dashed lines 40 in FIG. 1.The result is the formation of a longitudinal tear strip 42 as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the tear strip being substantially the same width as thetab region. The consumer may tear only one face of the package as shownor may pull both the separable tab portions 32 away from the main bodyof the package so as to tear both faces of the package simultaneously.

Whilst the whole end seal 22 is formed using a peelable cold sealadhesive, the greater depth of the seal outside the tab region 30 makesit harder for the opposed regions of material to be pulled apart than isthe case within the tab region. By suitable design, it can be arrangedthat when the tab portions 32 are pulled apart, the seal within the tabportion 30 will tend to peel apart and the material tear in preferenceto the whole seal being pulled apart.

The outer ends 36 of the separable tab portions 32 protrude beyond theoutermost end 38 of the remainder of the end seal 22. This assists theuser in identifying and grasping the tab portions 32. Notches (notshown) may also be formed in the end seal either side of the protrudingparts of the tab portions to help initiate tearing.

As is common practice, the chocolate bar 12 is divided into a number ofdiscrete separable segments 12 a arranged in rows and columns by meansof elongate regions of reduced thickness or grooves 12 b. As illustratedin FIG. 3, the tab region 30 can be aligned with one of the elongateregions of reduced thickness. This enables the user to break off all orpart of a column or length of segments by grasping the remaining packageeither side of the tear strip without touching the bar.

FIG. 5 illustrates a length of film 16 used to form the package 14. Thefilm comprises a number of packaging lengths or wrappers 42, these areshown divided by a chain dashed lines 44 which indicate where the filmis cut to separate each package in turn from the remainder of the film.A cold seal adhesive 26 is applied in a frame-shaped pattern to an innerface of each packaging length to form the longitudinal 18 and transverseend seals 22, 24. Each frame-shaped sealing pattern includes two sideportions 46, 48 which form the longitudinal seal and two end portions50, 52 which form the transverse end seals 22, 24 when the material isfolded about the product. Inside the frame-shaped sealing pattern is aregion 54 of the wrapper on which no cold seal adhesive is applied andwhich encases the product or products in the completed package 14.

To form the tab region 30, no cold seal adhesive is applied in tworectangular shape areas 56, 57 in one of the end portions 50 which formsthe transverse end seal 22. When the material 16 is folded about thechocolate bar 12, the areas 56, 57 oppose one another so that materialin these regions is not bonded together and forms the separable tabportions 32 when the end seal 22 is produced. In the present embodimentin which the outer ends of the tab portions 32 project beyond the outerend of the remainder of the seal 22, the areas 56, 57 extend above thegeneral position of the line 44 along which the film is cut to separateone packaging length from the remainder of the film. When each wrappersection is separated from the remaining film, the film is cut along theline 44 over the majority of its width but the cut runs around the upperhalf (as shown) of the rectangular areas 56, 57 to produce theprotruding parts of the tab portions 32. The areas 56, 57 are positionedtowards the outer edge of the seal 22 to leave a continuous inner extentof cold seal extending across the material so the package is fullysealed prior to opening.

FIG. 6 illustrates a rotary knife 60 which can be used to separate apackage from the remaining film as part of the packaging process. Theknife 60 has a blade 62 which is predominantly straight apart from tworectangular sections 64 shaped to cut around the upper half of the areas56, 57 in which no cold seal is applied to the film form the protrudingparts of the tab portions 32. The knife 60 as shown in FIG. 6 willproduce a straight edge to the end seals 22, 24. However, the blade canbe shaped to produce different edge profiles. For example, FIG. 7illustrates an alternative embodiment of the rotary knife 60 in whichthe blade 66 is shaped to produce an undulating edge to the end seals.It will be appreciated that the protruding tab portions need not berectangular but could be formed in a variety of different shapes, suchas a heart shape.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative tab arrangement in which the separabletab portions 32 do not protrude beyond the outer edge of the remainderof the seal 22. Rather, in this embodiment notches 68 are formed in theouter edge of seal 22 on either side of the tab region 30. The notches68 extend inwardly substantially as far as the inner sealed extent ofthe tab region 30. The outer portions of the opposed regions of material16 between the notches which are not bonded are separable and form thetab portions 32.

Packaging arrangements in accordance with the invention are easy to openas well as being simple and cost effective to manufacture. There is norequirement to use a tear strip on the inner surface of the material orto form lines of weakness in the material to provide a tear guide as insome prior art arrangements. Whilst lines of weakness are not essential,score lines can be provided on the inner surface of the material to helpfurther define the tear lines if desired.

The invention is not limited to application with the type of flow wrappackaging disclosed in the above described embodiment but can be appliedto any suitable package formed from a flexible material havingdirectional tear characteristics by orienting the material so as to tearpreferentially in a direction orthogonal to a seal in which a tab regionfor initiating tearing is formed. Not all the seals used to form thepackage need be peelable, though it is essential that the seal in thetab region at least is peelable.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention in whichthe package 114 is in the form of so called Quad type bag or pouch. Thepackage is formed from a length of flexible material 116 in aconventional manner and is closed at the top by means of a header 170 inwhich opposing surfaces of the material 116 are bonded together to forma transverse seal. The header includes an inner header region 172 and anouter header region 174. The inner and outer header regions areseparated by a line of weakness 176 which extends across the header sothat the outer header region 174 can be removed by tearing along theline of weakness.

Within the majority of the inner header region 172, opposing surfaces ofthe material 116 are bonded together in a peelable manner using a coldseal adhesive 126 (as indicated by the cross shading), although otherpeelable seal arrangements can be used such as a peelable weld. The sealin the outer header region 174 may be also be a peelable seal or it maybe a permanent seal. Thus, in the outer header region 174 the opposingsurfaces of the material could be bonded using a permanent, i.e.non-peelable, adhesive or by welding. An aperture 178 is provided in theouter header region by means of which the package can be suspended froma hook for display purposes.

The line of weakness 176 is formed by means of a line of perforationsand extends straight across the package except for one area where itprojects outwardly (upwardly as shown) to define a tab region 130 whichextends beyond the outer edge of the remainder of the inner headerregion 172. No cold seal 126 is applied to the material within the tabregion 130 so that the opposing surfaces of the material are not bondedtogether when the header 170 is formed. In this embodiment, the tabregion 30 is semi-circular in shape but it can be any suitable shape. Inthe embodiment as shown, only the opposed regions of material in the tabregion 130 that are located above the general position of the line ofweakness 176 are not bonded together. However, the un-bonded area inwhich no cold seal 126 is present could be extended inwardly by alimited amount. This would result in an arrangement similar to that inthe previous embodiment in which the opposed regions of material withinthe tab region are only sealed over a smaller inner extent than in theremainder of the inner header region 172. This may help in making iteasier to separate the tab portions 132 to initiate tearing. As with theprevious embodiment, small cuts or notches may be provided either sideof the tab portion 132 to help in initiating tearing.

To open the package, the user first removes the outer header region 174by tearing along the line of weakness 176. With the outer header removedas shown in FIG. 10, the package remains sealed by virtue of the innerheader region 172. The opposed regions of material within the tab region130 which are not bonded together project from the outer edge of theinner header seal 172 and form separable tab portions 132 which can begrasped by a user and pulled apart to initiate tearing of the materialin a longitudinal direction on either side of the tap portions 132. Thematerial 116 is orientated so that it tears preferentially in thelongitudinal direction of the package, that is from top to bottom asshown, so that once tearing has been initiated and the tears will tendto propagate in substantially straight lines in the longitudinaldirection as indicated by the dashed lines 140 in FIG. 10.

In an alternative embodiment, the package 114 could be manufacturedwithout a removable outer header region 174 so that the package wouldresemble the package 114 as shown in FIG. 10 when manufactured. Bags andpouches of a similar nature can also be formed in accordance with theinvention from one or more lengths of flexible material joined togetherby means of seals to define a cavity. In this case, at least one of thelengths of material should have directional tear characteristics and beorientated so as to tear preferentially in a desired direction when atab portion 132 associated with one of the seals is pulled.

The terms “longitudinal” and transverse” are used herein to definerelative directions of the package or parts thereof in which the“transverse” direction is substantially orthogonal to the “longitudinal”direction. Depending on the design of any particular package, its“longitudinal” dimension many be longer or shorter than its “transverse”dimension.

The foregoing embodiments are not intended to limit the scope ofprotection afforded by the claims, but rather to describe examples as tohow the invention may be put into practice. For example, whilst theembodiments described above are adapted for packaging confectioneryproducts, the packaging arrangements described herein can be adapted forpackaging other food and indeed non-food products.

1. A flexible package comprising one or more lengths of flexiblematerial arranged to define an internal cavity closed by means of one ormore seals in which opposed regions of the material are bonded together,the package having one or more tab portions in which the material is notbonded to an opposing region of material associated with one seal, thematerial having directional tear characteristics and being orientated soas to tear preferentially in a direction substantially orthogonal to thedirection of said seal.
 2. A flexible package as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the material comprises a plastics film having directional tearcharacteristics.
 3. A flexible package as claimed in claim 2, in whichthe material comprises a monoaxially orientated polypropylene film.
 4. Aflexible package as claimed in claim 1, in which the material consistsexclusively of a single layer of monoaxially orientated polypropylenefilm.
 5. A flexible package as claimed in claim 1, in which the materialis a lamination comprising a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET),a layer of aluminium foil, and a layer of oriented polypropylene film.6. A flexible package as claimed in claim 1, in which, at least theouter end of the, or each, tab portion projects beyond an outer end ofthe remainder of said seal.
 7. A flexible package as claimed in claim 6,in which the whole of the, or each, tab portion projects beyond theouter end of the remainder of said seal.
 8. A flexible package asclaimed in claim 1, in which a tab region is defined within said seal,the opposed regions of material within the tab region being bondedtogether only over an inner extent of the seal, the opposed regions ofmaterial within the tab region but outside the inner extent are notbonded together to form opposed tab portions.
 9. A flexible package asclaimed in claim 1, in which the one or more tab portions extend in adirection substantially orthogonal to the direction of said seal.
 10. Aflexible package as claimed in claim 1, in which the seal is atransverse seal closing one end of the package and the material isoriented to tear preferentially in a longitudinal direction.
 11. Aflexible package as claimed in claim 1, in which the package is formedfrom a single length of flexible material.
 12. A flexible package asclaimed in claim 11, in which opposed side edge regions of the materialare bonded together to form a longitudinal seal and opposed end regionsof the material are bonded together to form transverse seals at eitherend of the package, the one or more tab portions being associated withone of the end seals and the material being orientated to as to tearpreferentially in a longitudinal direction of the package.
 13. Aflexible package as claimed in claim 12, in which the longitudinal sealis a fin seal.
 14. A flexible package as claimed in claim 1, in whichthe package is in the form of a bag or pouch closed at an upper end bymeans of a sealed header, the one or more tab portions being associatedwith the header.
 15. (canceled)
 16. A package assembly comprising aflexible package as claimed in claim 1 enclosing one or more products.17. A package assembly as claimed in claim 16, in which the one or moreproducts comprises at least one generally block shaped product.
 18. Apackage assembly as claimed in claim
 17. in which the at least onegenerally block shaped product is frangible and comprises two or moreseparable portions divided from one another by regions of reducedthickness along which the product can be broken, the one or more tabportions being aligned with a region of reduced thickness.
 19. A packageassembly as claimed in claim 16, in which the product is a chocolatebar.
 20. (canceled)
 21. A method of manufacturing a flexible packagefrom one or more lengths of flexible material, the method comprisingarranging the one or more lengths of material to define an internalcavity and bonding together opposed regions of the material to form oneor more seals closing the cavity, the method includes forming one ormore tab portions in which the material is not bonded to an opposingregion of material associated with one seal, the material havingdirectional tear characteristics and the method comprising orienting thematerial such that it is orientated so as to tear preferentially in adirection substantially orthogonal to the direction of the said oneseal.
 22. A method as claimed in claim 21, in which the one or more tabportions are aligned in a direction substantially orthogonal to thedirection of the seal.
 23. A method as claimed in claim 21, in which themethod comprises applying adhesive to a region of the material forproducing said one seal when the package is formed, no adhesive beingapplied in two areas within said region, which areas overlie one anotherwhen the material is formed into the package.
 24. (canceled)